An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is a military robot used to augment the capabilities of an infantry unit, or replace said unit entirely. This type of robot is generally capable of operating outdoors and over a wide variety of terrain, functioning in place of humans.
The UGV is the land-based counterpart to (unmanned aerial vehicles) and (remotely operated underwater vehicles). Unmanned robotics are actively being developed for both civilian and military use to perform dull, dirty, and dangerous activities.
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An unmanned ground combat vehicle (UGCV) is an autonomous, all terrain unmanned ground vehicle designed for combat.[1][2] As such, various designs may be equipped with mounted machine guns, grenade launchers and other similar kinds of ordinance.
There are two classes of unmanned ground vehicles: Remote-Operated and Autonomous.
A remote-operated UGV is a vehicle that is controlled by a human operator via a communications link. All actions are determined by the operator based upon either direct visual observation or remote viewing through a camera. A basic example of the principles of remote-operation would be a toy remote control car.
There are a wide variety of remote-operated UGVs in use today. Predominantly these vehicle are used to replace humans in hazardous situations. Examples are explosives and bomb disabling vehicles.
UGVs are also being developed for peacekeeping operations, ground surveillance, gatekeeper/checkpoint operations, urban street presence, and to enhance police and military raids in urban settings. UGVs can "draw first fire" from insurgents - reducing military and police casualties.
Some examples of remote-operated UGV technology are:
An autonomous UGV is essentially an autonomous robot that operates without the need for a human controller.
A fully autonomous robot has the ability to:
A robot may also be able to learn autonomously. Autonomous learning includes the ability to:
Autonomous robots still require regular maintenance, as with all machines.
Some examples of autonomous UGV technology are:
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